$1M Ferrari graces Adelaide Classic Rally

Sir Paul Vestey loves his unique 1959 Ferrari California Spider so much he’ll go to the end of the earth to drive it – or, to be exact, to the glorious roads of the Adelaide region.

“The (Adelaide) special stages have some phenomenal roads. You just don’t get to run on roads like this anywhere else in the world,” he said. “They are wide and open and the scenery is beautiful. You can get stuck in for 10 or 20 kilometres and have a real go.”

According to Ferrari authority Graham Gauld, Vestey’s car is the only survivor of two special competition models of the California roadster built for competition by the Ferrari factory. It was bought new by Count Giovanni Volpi, the founder of the Venice Film Festival and son of Mussolini’s finance minister. During a busy competition life, it won first place in the GT class at the annual Sebring (USA) 12-Hour sports car race. Special competition features on the car include a clear plastic bonnet scoop, revealing intake trumpets for the Weber carburettors on the 3.0 V12 engine, and components from the iconic Testarossa model.

“It does a good turn of speed – about 150 miles an hour (240 kmh) – and has four megaphone exhausts that sound wonderful,” Sir Paul said.

He owns two historic Ferraris and ships one from Britain every year for Classic Adelaide, which is described as one of the world’s great classic motoring events.

His mount in 2007 was one of around 20 Ferraris in a field of 260 cars built between 1920 and 1990.

De Tomaso and Maserati were also represented in the rally around the Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Southern Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula, as well as the half Italian half Australian Giocattolo which, as we reported earlier, unfortunately crashed out of the rally.